Big news at the end of last week coming out of California and Washington DC

The state of California passed a law banning captive breeding of orcas as well as orca shows. This essentially puts a nail in the coffin to orca shows and breeding at Marine Mammal Parks such as SeaWorld in California and could pave the way for other states such as Florida and Texas to pass similar laws, which would completely get rid of shows and breeding programs for each of SeaWorld’s location.

The ban forces SeaWorld to change the way it displays orcas from an entertainment attraction to more of an education attraction and it could start the process in releasing orcas to Sea Side Marine Mammal Sanctuaries. However, SeaWorld continues to state that releasing captive bred orcas into the sea where they would be exposed to potential oil spills and other types of pollution would harm the orcas. Dr. Naomi Rose from the Animal Welfare Institute stated on The Speak Up For Blue Episode 190 that SeaWorld’s position is not scientifically correct and has been disproven by the release of the orca Keiko (Take a listen to the episode for more information on Keiko).

SeaWorld announced in March 2016 that it would halt the breeding program and in January earlier that year said it would stop its orca shows. The California law ensures that SeaWorld will not go back on its word.

The President was in the news a couple of weeks ago as he announced the expansion of the Hawaii National Marine Monument and last week he announced the establishment of the 1st Marine Monument in the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of New England. The Monument with protect a series of Deep Sea Seamounts and Canyons that provide great biodiversity for the area.

The Monument will ensure the protection of biodiversity of the area and protect fisheries sustainability; however, the fishing industry does not believe the Monument takes into account the loss of income it will have on the fishing industry.

The declaration of this Monument continues to show that this President values the Ocean and its resources as well as the need for its protection.

Are you ready to pivot to a more meaningful career?

Do you want to talk about how you can pursue a career in Marine Conservation? Send me an email and let’s chat.

Links To Resources Discussed in This Podcast

Thanks for Listening!

You can become a passion player for Ocean Conservation too! If you like what we’re doing, click on any of the links below to help support our Conservation efforts for yourself, our children and the planet!